How to hire a development assistant

How to hire a development assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step development assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a development assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new development assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a development assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the development assistant you need to hire. Certain development assistant roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A development assistant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, development assistants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of development assistants.

   Type of Development Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Development Assistant	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$9-35
   Business Development Coordinator	A business development coordinator specializes in devising strategies to identify and develop new sales and marketing opportunities, ensuring profitable growth and a strong client base. Their responsibilities revolve around gathering data, conducting research and analysis, organizing conferences and other events, maintaining records and data, and disseminating information such as proposals, memos, instructional documents, and more... Show more	$18-41
   Development Coordinator	A development coordinator is responsible for planning various programs and events for an organization or company. They primarily focus on securing funding by holding fundraising events, devising programs to increase brand awareness, and even coming up with various campaigns supporting a cause... Show more	$17-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Java
   • Database Management
   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • CSS
   • Professional Development
   • Alumni
   • Acknowledgement Letters
   • Donor Database
   • PowerPoint
   • Event Planning
   • Financial Reports
   • HTML
   • Salesforce

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all aspects of donor prospecting, cultivation, stewardship, and budget/vendor/consultant management for special events and individual giving.
   • Assist in the implementation of SalesForce database to track contacts.
   • Create, test, update HTML and JavaScript coding on Mac/PC platforms.
   • Job includes website programming and web-database application development using HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and MySQL.
   • Update monthly newsletter, blogging section of website, Facebook profile, and other social media/online networking tools.
   • Create marketing PowerPoint presentations, proposals and graphic design projects.

   More development assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your development assistant job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A development assistant can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, development assistants' average salary in mississippi is 59% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level development assistants 73% less than senior-level development assistants.
   • Certifications. A development assistant with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a development assistant's salary.

   Average development assistant salary

   $39,034yearly

   $18.77 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level development assistant salary

   $20,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average development assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$60,444	$29
   2	District of Columbia	$59,458	$29
   3	New York	$56,835	$27
   4	Massachusetts	$50,870	$24
   5	Pennsylvania	$49,251	$24
   6	Illinois	$45,797	$22
   7	Minnesota	$45,261	$22
   8	Michigan	$41,314	$20
   9	Washington	$39,640	$19
   10	California	$38,436	$18
   11	North Carolina	$35,347	$17
   12	Georgia	$34,442	$17
   13	Colorado	$33,450	$16
   14	Alaska	$32,868	$16
   15	Florida	$31,910	$15
   16	Iowa	$30,109	$14
   17	Texas	$28,953	$14
   18	Oklahoma	$27,850	$13

   Average development assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$134,807	$64.81	6
   2	MUFG EMEA	$133,286	$64.08
   3	Google	$125,172	$60.18	25
   4	State Street	$114,883	$55.23	4
   5	Ernst & Young	$114,334	$54.97	17
   6	Halozyme	$114,146	$54.88
   7	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$113,880	$54.75	74
   8	Mohawk Valley Health System	$110,152	$52.96
   9	Sidley Austin	$108,793	$52.30
   10	Rockstar Games	$92,890	$44.66
   11	Sybase	$80,674	$38.79
   12	Hartwick College	$63,785	$30.67
   13	NRDC	$61,267	$29.46
   14	The Jewish Museum	$59,950	$28.82
   15	Harvard University	$57,205	$27.50
   16	Children's Hospital Colorado	$56,490	$27.16	2
   17	Shriners Hospitals for Children	$55,446	$26.66	1
   18	Oracle	$55,193	$26.54	1,688
   19	Columbia University in the City of New York	$54,422	$26.16	7
   20	MassBay Community College	$54,193	$26.05

4. Writing a development assistant job description

   A development assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a development assistant job description:

   Development assistant job description example

   Work type: Full Time
   School/Department: School of Law Grade: Grade 9 Categories: Development/Alumni Relations, Other, General Administration, Administrative Support Job Type: Support Staff - Union Bargaining Unit: Local 2110 Regular/Temporary: Regular End Date if Temporary: Hours Per Week: 35 Salary Range: Position Summary
   
   The Development Assistant provides administrative and analytical support to the Director of Annual Giving. The Development Assistant's primary responsibilities are assisting and supporting the various Annual Giving and Development programs for the Law School.
   
   Responsibilities
   Works extensively with Raisers Edge database to generate queries and exports needed for annual giving outreach. Prepares regular statistical and analytical reports on the Law School's development progress using the Raiser's Edge database. Helps to process all incoming gifts to the Law School. Helps maintain alumni/ae records with giving related information as required. Provides support for solicitation and invitation mailings. Works with vendors and mailhouses to ensure that materials and data are ordered and provided on time. Coordinates with numerous internal and external departments on various projects associated with development initiatives Assists student organizations requesting alumni/ae contact information for fund-raising purposes and events. Filters and reviews requests with Annual Giving Director and provides necessary information to students. Assists Director with Class Gift Campaign by supporting committee volunteers and maintaining pledge records. Composes and edits reports, correspondence, solicitation materials, invitations to cultivation events and memos. Assists with planning, coordination and implementation of Development and Alumni Relations events, including support for departmental special events. Performs other administrative duties and also provides support, as needed to the development office Senior Staff members. Minimum Qualifications
   
   High school diploma and/or its equivalent, plus three years of relevant work experience required, or the equivalent combination of education and experience. Must have excellent verbal and written communications skills and ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential prospect information discreetly. Must be detail oriented, self-motivated, and able to work independently and manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously and meet deadlines in a high-volume environment. Must be able to work a flexible schedule including some evenings and weekends.
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   
   College degree strongly preferred. Strong interest in fund-raising and some fund-raising experience preferred. Proficiency in, Microsoft Word/Excel required, Raiser's Edge preferred.
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran
   
   Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.
   
   Applications open: Jun 06 2022Eastern Daylight Time
   Applications close:

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find development assistants for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your development assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit development assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting development assistants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new development assistant

   Once you've selected the best development assistant candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new development assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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